Razer Shutters Its Game Store Less Than a Year After Launch

Razer announced that the Razer Game Store will close its (virtual) doors on February 28. The shuttering is said to be "part of the company's realignment plans," but that doesn't appear to mean Razer is leaving the game distribution business entirely, because it "will be investing in other ways to deliver great content."

The Razer Game Store didn't live a particularly long life: it debuted in April 2018 and will be shut down less than a year later. It also changed several times in response to what was originally called the zGold rewards program, which went through several iterations before becoming the Razer Gold system of today.

"It has been a privilege for us to recommend and deliver great digital game deals to you," Razer said in its announcement. "We have been extremely fortunate to have you as part of our awesome community. Thank you for the support and making all this possible." The company also encouraged Razer Game Store customers to "stay tuned for more news" about promotions via Razer Gold.

Aside from losing access to the Razer Game Store itself, the marketplace's closure shouldn't be too devastating for its customers. Razer was actually selling keys for games on Steam and Uplay, not handling distribution itself, and those keys will remain valid. The company will also honor all game pre-orders.

It seems like the biggest concern is what people who only used Razer Gold (and its Razer Silver counterpart) in the Razer Game Store will do with the proprietary currency now. There are some options, and Razer reiterated that it will continue to run game promotions via Razer Gold, but right now it's still unclear.

Aside from that, the other biggest change will be that discount vouchers won't be valid after the February 28 shuttering. (Which makes sense; it's hard to honor a discount on a product you don't sell anymore.) Anyone with discount vouchers and other Razer Game Store-specific assets should divest of them before it closes.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the Razer Game Store's closure affects perception of Razer Gold. The company already came under fire in December 2018 for introducing a partnership with Gamma to offer Razer Silver to people willing to let their machines be used to mine (far more valuable) cryptocurrencies.

Now that people have even fewer ways to use Razer's metallic-flavored rewards programs disguised as proprietary currencies, well, it wouldn't be particularly surprising if the company has to write a similar announcement about Razer Gold's closure before too long. (Or maybe it'll just go through yet another iteration.)